Conceived in the near hypothermic prairies of Saskatchewan, The Basement Paintings overall sound can be categorized into ambient and post-rock genres. Drums and bass pound the low end of the frequency range, while the slithering reverberations of the string section widen the spectrum to exhaustive levels of grandiosity.

Forming in the winter of 2011, The Basement Paintings quickly got to work recording a full length debut album which was released in March of 2013 along with a video for the single "Desert Surfer". The follow up EP, titled "Time Lapse City" was released in March of 2014. Featuring a collaboration with Aaron Harris (ISIS, Palms), the EP marks a major step in the evolution of the band, and the refinement of their sound. This stacked roster earned them a spot in “Ominocity’s Top Local Albums of 2014”. The band’s latest release, “Mystic”, is an attempt to abandon their prog and metal roots, and enter the vast, desolate wilderness of drone induced comatose. Their sophomore effort earned them a nomination on "Saskatchewan's Top Albums of 2016" ballot.

These ideas are then strung together with similar sounds and feelings to create richly woven sonic tapestries, made evident in one of the band’s first songs, dubbed “Adult Male Beluga Whale.” With its creeping guitars and rich, grounding percussion, the song weaves through deep, oceanic imagery, and showcases the ability of The Basement Paintings as instrumental raconteurs. To be sure, although the process may be tedious, the attention to detail serves them well, surfacing all throughout their body of work. 

— Willow Grier, Beatroute, Calgary, AB

The Basement Paintings, a Saskatoon instrumental group that combines prog, metal and ambient textures, have brought in some big names with their latest EP, Time Lapse City. Turning to Aaron Harris – the drummer for the now-defunct California-based post-metal band ISIS – to provide album mixes, the four-piece lay down increasingly complex riffs that showcase the band’s endless well of songwriting virtuosity and formidable sense of dynamics.